


A Mishap in Maltby

by Swanyu_Tales



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: 15DaysChallenge, Cemetery, Gen, Hell Portal, Horror, Legends, Mental Breakdown, Near Death, Paranormal, Psychological Trauma, Supernatural Elements, Urban Legends, myths
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2020-01-11 08:51:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18427166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Swanyu_Tales/pseuds/Swanyu_Tales
Summary: A story in which Nathan and Vincent go sightseeing in Seattle, and Vincent gets the two of them into quite a bit of trouble.





	A Mishap in Maltby

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! I'm back with a fun little challenge I did some writing for. Originally this wasn't going to be as long as it is now, but I'm glad it turned out a bit longer honestly. I based this fic off of the urban legend of Maltby's thirteen steps to hell, and I have to say, it was really fun to research! I would also like to clarify that I wish no real harm to befall either Nathan or Vincent, I just felt they would be a good choice to use in this story. I also do not condone messing with the supernatural in any way. Thank you to K1mHeechu1 for being my trusty editor and making this fic go from okay to something I'm actually proud to say I wrote! Also thank you to everyone who supported me while I tried to write this. Hopefully you enjoy! 
> 
> P.S. maybe don't read this before bed if you are sensitive to spooky stuff? I can't judge how bad it is, since writing it desensitized me to it.

'Come sightseeing with me.' He said.

'We'll see some cool stuff.' He said.

'Nothing bad will happen.' He said.

Vincent Zhou was a filthy liar, who was in for an ass kicking when Nathan finally got to him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After Skate America 2019 was over, Nathan was headed to Seattle for a day before going home. Vincent had overheard him talking about this and asked Nathan to go sightseeing with him. He accepted this offer, since he figured getting to know the up-and-coming skater was a good idea, plus it was a good opportunity to interact in a non-competitive setting. If only he had known how stupid of a decision this was.

They started with normal things that tourists would want to see. The Seattle Space Needle was really impressive in person, and the view from the restaurant at the top was incredible. The food was really expensive, but it was worth it to have lunch with a view like that. Afterwards, they went to the Museum of Pop Culture, which made for some great pictures; although it also became an opportunity for Nathan to get a glimpse of how disrespectful and annoying Vincent could be. Finally they visited Pike Place Market, which was full of life and excitement.

They wound up back at their hotel eventually, and Nathan was more than ready to relax. Vincent however, had another idea. After they had taken a little while to relax and get some dinner, Vincent decided to share his evening plans.

"Hey, I'm gonna go check out something a friend of mine told me about not too far from here. Do you want to tag along?"

"Maybe? I guess it depends on what it is." Nathan was still a bit wary of Vincent's judgement, so he wanted to know what exactly he was getting into before he agreed to anything.

"So just a few towns over, there's this place called Maltby. Apparently in their cemetery, this family has an underground tomb that goes down by 13 steps. People reportedly go insane when they reach the last step going down. It sounds freaky and cool and I want to check it out, but I thought it could be a good idea to bring a second person along with me." Vincent seemed really enthusiastic about this whole affair.

As much as Nathan wanted to nope the hell out of the whole ordeal before it even started, he felt like he should try to be responsible and look out for this kid. It wasn't like he always had the best judgement either, but he knew better than to tempt the fates when it came to things that dealt with the supernatural. That was just asking for a whole lot of trouble.

"Fine, I'll go with you. I'm only doing this to keep you out of too much trouble though. I don't think you should be tempting the fates like this, it just seems like a bad idea." Maybe voicing his concerns would change the younger boy's mind?

"Nah man, It'll be fine," He obviously didn't care what Nathan had to say. "Nothing bad will happen! It's just an urban legend, nothing to get anxious over."

Nathan grumbled something about taking the words of others into account as they pulled on their jackets. Shortly after, they departed the hotel to get on their way to Maltby and its infamous cemetery. He felt an increasing sense of dread the closer they got, although he wasn't sure if it was just his imagination acting up or not.

When they got there, they split up in an attempt to find these "thirteen steps" more quickly and efficiently. Eventually Vincent hollered that he had found them, and beckoned Nathan over. As he walked closer he started to feel incredibly nauseated. Maybe this was a worse idea than he originally thought...

"Okay, I'm gonna walk down, take my phone and film it for me! This would be great to share on my Instagram!" Nathan would have cringed at that, but he was already cringing so hard that he wanted to throw himself directly into the sun.

"Absolutely not, you have young and impressionable fans. You shouldn't condone these kinds of actions! It would be irresponsible to promote this kind of thing as okay!" By this point, he was like 3000% done with Vincent.

"Fine," The younger man snatched his phone back. "I'll just record it myself as I go down. I think this is fine as long as I put a disclaimer of sorts."

And with that, he started his descent. As he walked down the steps he started to explain where he was and what he was doing. By the time he made it to the sixth step, Nathan had lost sight of him. He started to panic, which in this situation seemed like an acceptable reaction. No one knew they were out here but them. What if Vincent died? What if he got blamed for it? What if both of them died?

The rational side of his mind was screaming at him to calm down and try to calmly talk to Vincent to make sure he was okay. Then, if he got no response, to call the police. You know, like a reasonable human being. That wasn't going to happen as planned though, seeing as he had already traumatized himself with his own mind.

He started yelling instead, seeing as Vincent didn't appear to be close to the top anymore. He wanted Vincent to answer and come back up. He wanted to kick his ass for dragging him out here. But more than anything, as much as he had come to dislike the teen, he just wanted him to be safe. He was still a human being, and still a member of team USA.

After about 5 minutes of yelling at a hole in the ground, to no avail, Nathan broke down and called the police. He wasn't even sure the police were the right people to call. Hell, he didn't even know if what they were doing was legal. All he knew was that he needed help to make sure Vincent was okay.

When the police arrived, he was still yelling at the entrance of the tomb, looking like a complete basket case, although he honestly couldn't say he didn't feel like one at that point in time. He really was going to need therapy when this was all said and done. 

At least he knew who he was going to send the bill to.

The police questioned him about what was going on, and when he explained the situation, they just shook their heads. One of them tied rope around their waist to be pulled back by if they didn't come out after a certain amount of time had passed. It seemed like there was a sort of procedure to this, like it happened frequently enough to warrant one being put in place.

While Nathan and the remaining cop waited for the other two to return, they talked about the situation. He wasn't sure why, but it helped him calm down a bit. He was really grateful that the universe seemed to be giving him a bit of a break in light of the current events. All he could hope was that this didn't cause any long term psychological damage. That would be a shame really; go out for fun and turn crazy because a dumb teenager got themselves sent to hell or something.

Eventually the first officer returned with Vincent, basically dragging him along, and it took everything he had not to break down.

Vincent's eyes had glazed over and they wouldn't focus on anything. His body was being limply dragged to the cop car so they could check for physical injuries, and Nathan wanted to help, but he couldn't. He just stood there watching in horror as the scene unfolded before him. He already knew Vincent's mind was a lost cause, and he felt like it was his fault. He should have acted as the voice of reason, he should have gotten a responsible adult to step in.

The police tried to question Vincent, but he wouldn't even look straight at them, let alone talk to them. Nathan tried to talk to him as well, but he got the same treatment. They were both given a ride to the police station, where their coaches were waiting for them. The police tried to get Vincent to speak to literally anyone at the station, but with no results.

Even months later, after the season had ended, Vincent still wouldn't talk. He communicated exclusively through notes, which were limited at that. He refused to talk about that night or Skate America in general, which caused any investigation to be uselessly difficult. His mental state was crumbly at best, but it seemed to not be deteriorating further. The damage had been done though, and even years later, he wasn't stable enough to continue skating.

From then on though, every time Nathan was in Washington state, he shuddered at the memory of Vincent being pulled from that ghastly tomb in Maltby.


End file.
